Ricoh Company

Ricoh is a global company specializing in office equipment, production printing solutions, document management systems, and IT services. The Ricoh group of companies, headquartered in Tokyo, is represented in more than 200 countries around the world. Most of the company's revenue comes from information optimization products, solutions and services.

Structure

By May 2015, Ricoh's activities were divided among the following main divisions:

• Office Imaging (printers, MFPs, scanners and consumables);
• Production Printing (devices and services for production printing);
• Industrial Products (optical equipment, semiconductor and other components);
• Network System Solutions (computers, network equipment and servers).

Business in Russia

Main article: Ricoh (Rico Rus)

Performance indicators

2015

At the end of the fiscal year ended March 2016, sales of the Ricoh group of companies reached 2,209 billion Japanese yen (about 19.6 billion dollars USA). Most of the company's revenue comes from information optimization products, solutions and services.

2014:6% profit drop

In April 2015, Ricoh published its financial performance report for the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015. In addition, the company released its forecast for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

For the reporting 12-month period, closed on March 31, 2015, Ricoh's revenue amounted to 2.23 trillion yen ($18.6 billion), which is 1.7% more than a year earlier. Excluding currency fluctuations, the company's sales declined 2.3%.

Annual net profit fell 5.8% to 68.5 billion yen ($571 million). Operating profit reached 115.7 billion yen ($964 million), down 3.8% year-on-year.

Ricoh profits fall 6% as PC and camera sales fall

From Ricoh's reporting, it follows that for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the company's sales in its native Japanese market fell by 7.2% compared to a year ago, amounting to 905.1 billion yen ($7.5 billion). The vendor explains this regression by the fall in consumer spending due to an increase in consumption tax in the country.

As a result, the Ricoh Network System Solutions division, which is responsible for PCs, servers and network equipment in particular, showed a 4.1 percent decrease in revenue (to 295.4 billion yen/$ 2.5 billion), while other subsidiaries of the manufacturer ended the fiscal year with a positive trend in revenue.

Thus, the Office Imaging and Production Printing divisions recorded annual sales of 1.5 trillion and 192 billion yen (12.5 and 1.6 billion dollars), respectively, which is 2.2% and 6.6% more than a year earlier. Industrial Products recorded an annual turnover of 118 billion yen ($983.7 million), which increased by 7.1% compared to the 2013-2014 financial year.

The company noted a decrease in sales of digital cameras, which is why the corresponding division received an operating loss of 3 billion yen ($25 million), while a year earlier there was a small operating profit.

Ricoh predicts an increase in revenue by 7.5% and net profit by 21.1% for the fiscal year, which will last until March 31, 2016. The company associates this rise with high demand for colored MFPs, a weak yen and the efficiency of acquiring market participants.^[1]

2013

At the end of the financial year ended March 2013, sales of the Ricoh group of companies reached 1,942 billion Japanese yen (approx. 20 billion dollars USA).

Ricoh also manufactures award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. The company is known for the high quality of its products and solutions, exceptional standards of services and initiatives to protect the environment.

History

2024:2% staff cut

On September 13, 2024, it became known that the Japanese company Ricoh, which manufactures printers and other image processing equipment, will conduct a restructuring aimed at improving its financial situation. One of the measures will be to reduce the number of personnel.

About 2,000 employees will be laid off globally, more than 2% of the state, it said. In particular, about 1000 jobs will be eliminated in Japan - including through voluntary retirement.

𝓲

Bloomberg

The reduction in the number of employees, as noted, is due to the collapse in printer sales. A significant decrease in demand for multifunctional printing devices is recorded due to the refusal of offices from paper documentation. According to IDC estimates, in the first quarter of 2024, global deliveries of printing equipment collapsed by 17.6% on an annualized basis - to 18.8 million units. In monetary terms, sales decreased by 15.6%, reaching $9.3 billion.

Ricoh says it will focus on digital transformation-related businesses as part of the restructuring. In July 2024, Ricoh launched a joint venture with Toshiba Tec to improve the development and production of multifunctional printing devices. However, the fall in demand for such equipment forces the company to take measures to optimize business operations.

Ricoh's decision to reorganise comes in response to the difficulties it faces in transforming into a digital services company. Ricoh has identified increasing profitability as its main objective and is actively re-building business operations to this model. Restructuring involves optimizing headcount and reallocating resources around the world.^[2]

2023: Merger of a printer division with a similar one at Toshiba

On May 19, 2023, Toshiba and Ricoh announced an agreement to merge their structures involved in the development and production of printers, copiers and other office equipment.

According to Nikkei, the decision to merge the printer divisions is explained by several reasons. In the corresponding segment, there is a decrease in demand due to the growing popularity of remote work platforms and the development of the concept of paperless offices. In addition, manufacturers and consumers are forced to save money in a difficult macroeconomic situation and a high inflation rate. According to the Japan Association of Manufacturers of Business Machines and Information Systems, the global supply of copiers and multifunctional devices in 2022 amounted to 4.06 million units, which is 16% less than five years earlier.

Toshiba and Ricoh announced an agreement to merge their structures involved in the development and production of printers

The Toshiba-Ricoh agreement is the first deal between rival office equipment manufacturers to integrate manufacturing. This step will lead to cost savings by optimizing operations at all stages - from design and development to the actual production of printing equipment. In the medium to long term, the companies will also consider restructuring the plants.

The merger of the printer divisions will also help strengthen the position in relation to competitors. It is planned to complete the merger of assets between April 1, 2024 and June 30 of the same year. Ricoh will take a majority stake in the joint venture. The new structure is expected to occupy a leading position in the global printing equipment market. In general, according to Nikkei, Japanese manufacturers, including Canon, Konica Minolta and Fujifilm Business Innovation, together control more than 80% of the relevant global industry.^[3]

2020

Purchase of IT service provider MTI Technology

On October 7, 2020, it became known that Ricoh bought IT service provider MTI Technology. Thanks to this deal, the Japanese manufacturer expects to expand its IT capabilities throughout Europe. Read more here.

Ricoh bought two system integrators

In early September 2020, Ricoh announced the purchase of two system integrators. The Japanese company acquired the German DataVision and the Polish SimpleITy. Read more here.

Notes